Grad Housing: Venice/Barry Apartments

Incoming planners are probably at that point where they're looking for housing or being given offers by University Housing at some of the many places off campus.  While answering an email question today about these options, I figured it would be worth it to put some of my answers on BruinPlanners.

Above is a really low quality picture of the Venice/Barry complex, and if you click below, I'll share with you the pro's and con's of living here, plus the surprising Walkscore.com results.

Urban Planning in 2010: Commemorative Video

Various Urban Planning alumni, including Christopher Lock helped put together this video, in commemoration of the department's 40th Anniversary Celebration:

Urban Planning at 2010 from Jeremy Cogan on Vimeo.

Planning Candidates in GSA Elections - CONGRATS!

As many of you are aware, there were two Planners in last week's GSA elections, along with 7 other candidates vieing for the leadership roles in our oft-unnoticed by potentially influential student government.  Those two Planners, 2nd Year MA students Luis Limon and Cheye-Ann Corona were victorious, along with the rest of their Public Education Party, sweeping out the old administration and bringing in a full slate of new leadership.  BruinPlanners wishes them good luck in the coming year - though for Shoup's sake, perhaps they'll find a way to cash-out of the GSA OFFICER FREE PARKING.

For full results, including what happened to the referenda items and the numeric breakdown, click below for the rest of this story.

Graduate Student Association Elections

At stake in this week's Graduate Student Elections:

- A GSA budget of roughly $900,000 annually

- Substantial administrative and planning influence

- All winning officers are paid a salary of $600/month out of our student fees, plus FREE PARKING (oh no!)

Please vote using http://my.ucla.edu. As an individual, I am supporting PEP, the Public Education Party, which includes two of our very own MA students: Luis and Cheye-Ann. Learn why myself and countless others are taking 3 minutes out of our day to vote for PEP by viewing this introductory video:

For information on all of the candidates, links to their websites, and info on the freebies you can win by participating, read more after the jump...

Food 2.0

(Heard about this from Heart Beet Gardening but haven't found anything else about it)
Food 2.0, a symposium on Sustainable Agriculture, Social Entrepreneurship and the Future of Food at UCLA on May 5th. Food 2.0 is a first of its kind, this path-breaking event will cast a spotlight on the thought leaders and social entrepreneurs who are reinventing the food we eat, the beverages we drink and the systems that nourish our communities. It is a rare opportunity to explore the connection between profits and purpose and how we can strengthen community through sustainable business.

More details to come (please post 'em if you've got 'em), at least two panels mentioned: "The Future of Food", and Sustainable Food Initiatives on the LA food Scene.

When & Where: May 5th from 4-8pm at the UCLA Anderson School of Management in Westwood, California. Panel events will be held in Korn Hall and the Farmer's Market will take place just outside Korn Hall in Alumni Plaza.

Live Blog: Social Sciences Council Meeting

There are three meetings of the Social Sciences Council per quarter, and today wraps up the the last of Winter Quarter.  SSC represents the 16 Social Sciences Departments (including all 3 departments in the School of Public Affairs).  After the link you'll find all pertinent information covered at the meeting.

March 4: UC Day of Action

On March 4, the UC Day of Action will organize students throughout the UC system against the fee hikes.  More information is available at the March 4 Strike Blog.  Here is the schedule for the Day of Action:

• 11:30am-Noon Campus-wide: Any students still stuck in class are encouraged to WALKOUT! 
• Noon-1pm  ALL OUT TO BRUIN PLAZA!  Rally followed by March around UCLA campus; Speakers, media coverage, chanting, opportunities for circulating petitions, etc.
• 1-3pm Bruin Plaza and Campus Wide Revolution Dance Party- DJ, musical acts, hip-hop artists, student-led teach-ins, etc.
• 3-4pm Bruin Plaza:  Teach-in with various faculty members.
• 4:30-5:30pm Bruin Plaza:  Rally; Speakers, media coverage, chanting, petitioning, etc.  UTLA, CFT, CTA, LAUSD, Community Colleges, and California State Universities join.

Last week, the Social Sciences Council (which includes your Urban Planning Reps) passed a resolution in support of the Day of Action, which you can read after the break...